- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
It’s like you are writing my life the past month! Hang in there!! Ultimately I think this is an extension of ROCD because if you were a lesbian it would ultimately mean you’d have to leave the relationship. It’s so tough- I feel your pain. My ROCD has eased off but SOOCD has come on strong!
- Date posted
- 3y
I was thinking the same thing, that it’s an extension of ROCD as all my ROCD themes made me believe I had to break up with him. I think it all comes from fear of abandonment so I have to be the one to end it first, if that makes sense? Which is why I’m also having such a bad reaction to two weeks apart. I know I’m not a lesbian because I have found other men attractive recently and been aroused by talking about sex with my boyfriend but my brain is doing a really good job of convincing me I am. I’m sorry you can relate so much though, it’s definitely not fun but thank you so much for responding and making me feel a little less alone
- Date posted
- 3y
@EM77 Yep makes sense! I’m nearly 30 years old and I’ve never questioned my sexuality so to me it’s a bit of a stretch to suddenly be the complete opposite sexuality. I love my partner and couldn’t get enough of him days ago so I’ll continue to treat it as OCD. If there is no proof and there is anxiety behind it, I’ll always treat it like OCD. (Although I quite often fall into the ‘I’m not anxious enough’ trap haha- it’s never ending!!) Hope it eases off for you. Our brains are soooo convincing!!
- Date posted
- 3y
@Shannon I’ve questioned my sexuality on and off for a few years but it was never sticky and anxiety inducing like it is now, I was always able to accept that I might be bi and/or on the asexual spectrum and never once thought I was actually a lesbian, I was always able to think about it and move on easily but now it’s become sticky in my mind. I feel like because I’ve questioned my sexuality before it makes it more “real” and like I’m actually in “denial” which is so difficult. I felt so in love last week with my boyfriend and felt that magnetic pull towards him frequently last week and was so happy when he said he wants to get married someday so I’m trying to remind myself of those things. Surely if I was actually a lesbian those things wouldn’t make me so happy and I wouldn’t experience them? Sorry I’m rambling on now! I’ve definitely fallen into the “I’m not anxious enough” trap, it’s awful! Thanks, I hope you experience relief from it soon too!
- Date posted
- 3y
@EM77 Then tgat should be a good sign that it’s OCD. Sticky thoughts that make you anxious or distressed. They go against what you want. I understand the feelings of denial- I get that too. And feeling happy with your partner! I struggle with intimacy generally which adds a lot of fuel to my fire & when I read stories written by women who are lesbians that are similar to my feelings I find that very triggering but everyone is different and every story is different. Ultimately you can decide what you want, not your thoughts. On my toughest days I ask ‘do I want to stay in this relationship today’ and the answer is always yes no matter what OCD says.
- Date posted
- 3y
@Shannon I’ve always taken that as a sign of OCD too, they definitely make me upset at the moment not so much anxious anymore but sometimes anxiety accompanies them! Omg I’m the exact same, sex has never been something I’ve majorly enjoyed so I related to some lesbian stories which made me spiral! But I always want to stay in the relationship which is why these thoughts are so sticky and upsetting. Thank you so much for this advice though, it’s really helped me to see this as OCD
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
I don’t understand how my boyfriend can love me so much after everything I put him through. He constantly shows me how much he loves me, yet I feel like I can’t fully appreciate it. I can’t explain how badly I behave towards him when these thoughts take over, how often I lash out because of them, and how many times I’ve told him exactly what’s on my mind. He tries to use logic to help me, but it never seems to work. And now, even as I’m writing this, I feel like crying—yet at the same time, my mind tells me that I don’t care. This horrible feeling inside me won’t go away. I keep thinking, “What if I don’t like him?” That thought is always there. I wonder if I had unrealistic expectations about this relationship from the beginning, since he is my first boyfriend. What if I convinced myself I liked him just because I wanted my first relationship to be perfect? And now, I just can’t accept the truth? It scares me even more knowing that he moved to my city for me. I feel like I’m constantly upset, constantly sad. And despite everything, he’s always there for me. That makes me feel even worse because I don’t know what to do to feel okay again. Every time I talk to him, I get this strange feeling inside me, and I’m terrified that it means my thoughts are actually true. He tells me that my happiness shouldn’t depend only on him, that I should focus on more than just this relationship—because for over a year now, my mind has been stuck in an endless loop of questioning whether I love him or not. He asks me, “Who are you fighting? Why do you care so much? You’ve been asking yourself the same question for over a year—shouldn’t you know the answer by now?” And my response is always, “Because I want to be with you.” But then, when I try to answer whether I like him or not, more doubts take over. I start thinking, “Maybe I just can’t accept that I don’t love him. Maybe I just want to keep this relationship perfect.” The worst part is that he has never done anything wrong. He has always been patient, kind, and loving, yet I feel so lost. I don’t understand what’s happening. I don’t understand what I feel. And I don’t understand why I can’t understand what I feel. He also tells me that ever since I started reading so much about relationships and OCD online, I have gotten worse. And he’s right. I have become much worse than I was before. The problem is that before, I thought I was at my worst, but looking back, I was still able to feel happiness at times. Now, I feel completely stuck. I don’t know if I’m crying because I hate this feeling, or because I don’t want to think this way about him. It feels like I don’t even know what’s happening to me anymore.
- Date posted
- 23w
2 months ago I started suffering from ROCD. I’ve been with my fiancé for almost 6 years and everything has always felt so effortless and safe. I didn’t know that I had OCD when this started and I felt like something had taken over my mind. Out of nowhere I was questioning everything. Weather I was attracted to him or not, if I loved him, watching every single thing he does and says and micro analyzing if I like it or not. At first when I realized I had OCD i felt relief. But ever since then its just felt like the thoughts have gotten more complicated and confusing. After learning it was OCD I realized that I had been experiencing it since at least the age of 11. It started with SOCD which was debilitating for months to the point of having emotional breakdowns every night. I was eventually able to let it go but my sexuality since then has always been something I fill unsteady in. I also suffered from POCD after learning my grandfather had sexually touched one of my cousins. Even though I had never thought of a child in that way I became consumed with the fear that I could be capable of something like that. Me and my fiancé have always planned on having kids but I no longer feel excitement towards having kids because of the fear that I could hurt them. Since the ROCD surfaced the SOCD had come back full force. I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore. There has been so much ruminating. I’ve noticed I do a lot of mental checking on my past and our past together and it’s made it all feel gloomy because my OCD only focuses on the bad. That has made me question if I ever truly loved him or liked being around him which is terrifying. He has been so loving and has been trying hard to understand but I still feel completely in my head whether he is around or not. I have put my fiancé through so much and I hate myself for it. One of my compulsions is word vomiting my every thought which has been scaring for him and me. I’ve tried to rein that in and I’ve gotten a little better at not doing that. I just feel so uncertain of everything. I am constantly having panic attacks about not knowing who I am and I hate it. Our wedding is coming up in October and when I think of it I feel scared instead of excited. I have put the planning on hold because I want to have some sort of handle on this first but my brain is trying to convince me it’s just because I don’t love him and I don’t want to be with him forever. Sometimes I even feel like it’s impossible. Like I don’t even have a choice in the matter. That it is going to end badly no matter how hard I am trying. Every single little problem we had before this (there isn’t many) feels huge. I started with an NOCD therapist a couple weeks ago but we only just started on ERP therapy today that focuses on the SOCD. She is having me look at naked women to see how I feel and gage my anxiety. I made myself look at naked women and men and felt some arousal from both. I know logically I don’t want to be with a woman in that way and the thought of physically being with one isn’t appealing, so that is also confusing. I kept looking up photos until I felt numb to them all. Afterwards for a second it almost felt silly to have been stuck on something that felt so superficial. I know I find women beautiful but I have never felt any desire to be with one sexually or had a crush on one. I’ve only ever had feelings like that for a man. When I was done I came out excited because I felt the freedom to choose the man I am with. I know I love him and I want to be with him but after a couple of hours I feel like all I can focus on is the fact that I felt any sort of arousal towards a picture of a woman. It almost makes me feel like my OCD was right all along and I am just in denial about everything. Even when I am feeling some peace, or like I am myself again I am just terrified of when the thoughts will come back. Everything I do or say I question whether it’s me who is doing or saying that thing or if I’m just doing it because of the OCD. I feel like I have completely lost my mind. I feel like my OCD has stripped me of so much of my identity and dreams and has started to strip me of my sanity. I almost just want to quit but I know how I felt and who I was before all of this and I know this isn’t me. I can’t let it have another win. I really don’t want to loose him.
- Date posted
- 17w
I’m like 90% sure I’m just bi, more romantically inclined to men, mainly my bf who I wanna marry. But now my brain is like “if you lean into liking women or keep circling and circling for answers you’ll lose all attraction to men and your bf. You’re practically already a lesbian” I feel so tense and anxious I will admit I am talking to chat gpt out of desperation I’m scared of losing all attraction to him I don’t wanna be thinking about women. I don’t unless I’m really stressed cuz when I’m stressed my ocd can take advantage of that I can usually ground myself when I’m in the city with him but I’m back home for most of the summer and I can’t be physically close to him which usually reminds me that hey this is real this is what I really want in life. Him But then I panic and question I haven’t been here in a while tbh. I’m worried I don’t feel enough. I don’t like magic Mike all that much, I like softer guys. But now the fact I don’t like/get turned on by random men on tv but do women in lingerie really stresses me out and makes me worry I’m truly a lesbian but I’m not. Once I started getting to know my bf and my ex bf’s I really did truly genuinely like them and wanted to make out and everything. Idk can anyone relate to the not liking big buff men All my brain is repeating rn is “when he dies you’ll be able to date a woman, when you break up you’ll only wanna date women” and it’s stressing me out. It’s making me nauseous. I was doing well for about a couple days after I initially left but being at home has been so incredibly draining This might give you a vision of how stressful home is: I’ve been on nexplanon for 7 months ish? Only had very minimal spotting during a stressful school period. Today: fully bleeding, like a usual period. I haven’t had my period since having it put in. I wanna go back to my bf so badly rn. I’m so worried I’m faking or don’t feel enough. I’m learning what a healthy relationship looks like and I’m terrified I’m gonna up and leave him when we’re older cuz I’ll finally figure out that I’m a lesbian or smthn. Idk. Someone pls just help me out a tad
- Relationship OCD
- Sexual Orientation OCD
- OCD newbies
- Students with OCD
- LGBTQ+ with OCD
- Young adults with OCD
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond